


All Bets are Off

by orphan_account



Category: Thrilling Intent (Web Series)
Genre: Casino AU, Drinking, Eventually Romantic things will happen, F/M, Slow Burn, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 19:25:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10041539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After Thog runs away from the city of Alaran, he finds himself in Grius, a much freer place. He has a rather large sum of money he needs to spend in a way that will hopefully eventually bring in even more money. He ends up buying a casino, and assembling a rag tag team of employees to run the place. It's not long however before his sorted past catches up with him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Discontinued i guess

 

“Well shit.” Thog stomped out his cigarette on the ground. It was his last one, he'd have to buy more soon. And perhaps while he was at that, find a place to stay. The unfamiliar city sprawled out in front of him, making him feel uncomfortably like an insect trapped in a spider’s web. He'd escaped from one city and straight into another. What was the name of this place again? Grius, he believed.

Grius felt different from Alaran. Even if the two cities looked similar from just a glance, the feeling was different. This was not the capitalist city, fueled by the working class and overburdened by bureaucracy. It was more free place, a city that was perfect for starting over. That was exactly what he intended to do. Once he got himself another pack of smokes.

Thog started trudging down the street. Unlike Alaran, there were some trees lining the sidewalks, masking a bit of the city smell. They almost seemed to block out the noisy sounds of cars honking away. Almost.

Thog had no idea where he was going, but that didn't stop his slow march forward. There had to be a corner store somewhere nearby. Or anything. He gave a slight sigh as he looked up at all the buildings rising towards the sky around him. How would he ever find anything? As he was looking up his feet caught on something. Before he could blink, Thog collided with the ground, banging his knees against the hard concrete painfully.

“Watch out.” A disgruntled voice called out from behind Thog.

Thog stood up, dusting a bit of dirt from his pants. He looked behind him at the voice. It was a young man? No, she was a young woman and she was sitting on the sidewalk with some papers scrawled out in front of her, a pen pressed against her lips She had short fluffy white hair, almost glowing yellow eyes, and she was wearing a dirty green t-shirt and khakis. “Sorry.” Thog mumbled out in a rather insincere manner.

“Oh, yes, you sound so sorry.” The white haired one snarked.

“Yeah, well maybe if you didn't sit where people were walking, they wouldn't trip over you.”

“Well maybe if you actually opened your eyes and looked where you were going, then you wouldn't trip over other people. Or is that too hard for you?” She spoke with gusto, pointing at Thog with her pen.

A nearly imperceptible grin crossed Thog’s face for an instant. He liked this person, not just anyone could dish out the sarcasm like he did. “Seeing ain't hard for me, and it'd be pretty hard to miss you anyway. Guess I just had my mind in the clouds. Doesn't happen often, I assure you.” Thog looked down at what she was working on. It looked like a map of some kind. “Speaking of, do you know where a corner store, or gas station would be?”

“Why should I tell you? Are you going to pay me?” The young woman got an almost evil smirk on her face, her eyes piercing into Thog as she covered the map with her hands.

“Ugh, nevermind. I don't want to owe you anything anyway.” Thog grumbled, he began to turn to leave, when she spoke again.

“There is a store two blocks over. Guess you owe me now!” She smiled at him with that same malicious glint in her eyes.

“Yeah, sure.” Thog sighed. He was feeling a bit irritated from a lack of nicotine and just wanted to get to the store. He took one last look backwards as he walked, seeing the girl writing on the papers again. For the first time he looked more closely at the building she was sitting in front of. It looked a bit run down, but he could see that at one time it had probably been a high class establishment. A sign over the doors read, “Nine Shrines Casino and Hotel.”

It was long closed now. A relic in an otherwise lively city. Thog considered it briefly before sticking his hands in his pockets and turning back around, walking towards the store. He had a sudden, crazy thought of buying it and running it himself. He could almost picture it in his head, of him being the owner, of him finally living a clean ordinary life, of that strange girl working there with him…

Thog shook his head. What was that last thought he had just had? He almost laughed at himself. He didn't even know that girl’s name, and he'd probably never see her again. There was no reason to think about her anymore than that. Before he knew it, he was in front of the store he'd been directed towards.

The front of the store was covered in rather glittery posters, all with pictures of a young man with long blonde hair, wearing a magician's outfit. The words “Markus Velafi, Sorcelock Extraordinaire,” were scrawled across the posters. Thog shook his head and headed into the store.

After purchasing a few essentials, mostly booze and cigarettes, Thog made his way back out onto the street, at a bit of a loss as to where he should go next. He was just thinking about trying to find a hotel to stay at, when a voice called out behind him. “Sir! Sir you left your wallet!”

The store clerk ran out of the store, carrying what indeed seemed to be Thog’s wallet. Thog patted his pocket quickly, and realized it was missing. “Thanks,” Thog said to the young man in front of him. He appeared rather youthful, his brown hair tied back behind his head. He had cheerful brown eyes that sparkled at the tiny thanks Thog had given him. He was wearing the store’s uniform, with a name tag that seemed to gleefully declare his name, “Gregor.”

“Just doing my job sir.” The young man smiled before heading back into the store.

Thog thought back to Alaran for a moment, checking his wallet to ensure all the money was still there. It was of course. Grius seemed to be a much more honest city, or perhaps that clerk was much more honest than most. Either way, he was glad to have his wallet back. Thog was carrying a rather large sum of money on him, and it almost felt like a weight upon him. He'd have to spend it rather quickly. He didn't know if the people he'd escaped from were looking for him, or would try and trace the money back to him, but he didn't want to carry it around anymore. He wanted to spend it, preferably in a way that would eventually make him rich.

Without even really thinking about it, Thog found himself back in front of the abandoned casino. The girl from earlier was gone, much to Thog’s dismay. He had wanted to talk with her more, but now wasn't the time. Taped to one of the doors was a “For Sale” sign and a phone number.

Thog took out a cigarette, and lit up while he dialed the number. He let out a deep breath as the phone rang. An excitement seemed to course through his veins as he waited for someone to pick up. He was really about to do this incredibly stupid thing, and it was honestly almost fun. A voice finally answered, “Kyl’il Real Estate Services, how may I help you?”

“So, you got a casino for sale?”

…

The morning sun beamed through the shades of the hotel room Thog had stayed in the night before. It had been such a long time since he had slept in an actual bed, being on the run didn't afford him many chances to settle in anywhere. Now he did have a place, far enough away from Alaran for him to feel safe. It was a good feeling, being able to watch as the rays of the sun slowly made it across the room.

Thog picked up the keys he had acquired the day before. He was a shrewd business man, and he didn't like to brag, but he knew quite a bit about contracts. He was able to get a fair price for the old run down casino, leaving him with enough money to pay for repairs and paying any employees he had to hire. Another fleeting thought of the white haired girl ran through his head.

Before the sun had risen much more, Thog had packed up his meager belongings and headed out. Walking with more confidence now, he made his way back to the Nine Shrines. The walk seemed to take no time at all, and he was standing in front of the building he now owned.

Taking the keys out of his pocket, Thog put them in the front door. The door easily swung open. It was dark inside, the still rising sun barely illuminating the inside. Thog took out his phone to help light his way. Getting electricity turned on would have to be a top priority.

The first room was a rather large lobby. There was an elevator that probably lead to the hotel portion of the casino. Towards the back of the lobby he could already see the entrance to the Casino. It was a huge room, full of card tables, roulette wheels, and slot machines for days. Thog made a mental note to hire a mechanic for all those machines.

On the far left there was a bar, currently unstocked. Thog ran his hand over the wood. It felt worn, as if hundreds of people had touched it before him. There was a kitchen behind that, with a small restaurant. Near the rear there was an auditorium where entertainment would play. The Nine Shrines Casino really did have everything. That was good, but finding enough staff would be difficult, not to mention all the repairs he'd have to do prior to even opening. Thinking about all the work ahead of him, Thog decided to step back outside for a quick smoke.

Thog opened the front doors, temporarily blinded by the bright sun. He walked forward, and his foot came into contact with something.

“Ow!” It was the same disgruntled voice Thog had heard yesterday yelled.

Thog blocked the sun with one hand and looked down. “You again?” He said.

“You know I'm starting to think you have some sort of vendetta against me.” The girl rubbed her back where Thog had accidentally kicked her.

“A vendetta? No. I'm just wondering why you are sitting in front of my casino.” Thog sneered.

“What?” The girl suddenly leapt to her feet and looked Thog up and down. “You own this place?” Her eyes grew wide.

“Sure do.” Thog grinned as he spun the key to the building around his finger. “So what are you doing on my property?”

“I was just leaving.” The white haired girl bent over to pick up her belongings. Thog noticed that she was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. He wondered if she could be living on the streets?

“Wait.” Thog said. The girl turned around to look at him a bit impatiently. “I'm just opening up this place, and I need some employees. How about you come work for me?”

The girl looked taken aback, “You want to hire me? Oh gods, are you stupid? You don't even know my name. Is this your typical hiring practices? You just pick up whoever wanders in front of your building?”

Thog gave a slight chuckle and shrugged, “Well I owe you one right? Name's Thog.” He held out his hand for her to shake.

She hesitated for a moment, before reaching out her own hand. She shook his firmly, her hands soft against his rugged skin. “I'm Aesling. No, call me Ashe.”

“Alright Ashe, you got a last name?” After another moment, Thog let go of her hand. His hand felt strangely warm from the brief contact.

“Do you?” She asked back with a grin.

“Nope.” Thog said.

“Then neither do I.” Ashe bent over to finish picking up her belongings. “And just so we are clear, I don't owe you anything for this.”

“Right, right, like I said, I did owe you. Now let's get inside, we got a lot of work to do.” Thog held open the door to his casino, and tentatively, Ashe followed him in.


End file.
